Summer Herbal Iced Tea With Orange and Mint

The days are heating up and it’s time to enjoy healing drinks that are refreshing, full of ready-to-absorb nutrients, and easy to make! This orange and mint herbal iced tea is one of my favorite summer drinks. It is a time-tested crowd pleaser.

Every time you take a drink, you have the opportunity to overwhelm your body with sugar and chemicals or to support and nourish it with minerals and nutrients. One important step towards optimum health is to just say no to soda.

Even if you’re busy with summer activities, it takes very little effort to make your own healthful and delicious beverages. An added benefit of simple, homemade drinks is that you can count on significant financial savings.

Orange and Mint Herbal Iced Tea

This orange and mint iced tea recipe comes from my book, The Herbal Kitchen, and it’s the perfect tea to refresh and revitalize. A glass of this tea helps you to avoid an afternoon energy crash and enlivens the mind.

To make this delicious beverage, you’ll begin by making a tea with orange peel and peppermint. Let’s take a closer look at these two ingredients…

Orange Peels

Don’t toss your orange peels! Not only are they safe to eat, but orange peels make a delicious herbal iced tea. You can use them fresh or dried.

Orange peels also have many health benefits. For example, they contain vitamin C as well as pectin, a carbohydrate that feeds the good bacteria in your gut. Keeping your gut bacteria healthy helps you digest nutrients and supports your immune system.

As a carminative herb, orange peel also aids digestion and it can soothe gas and bloating. You can click here to read more about the health benefits of orange peels.

If you don’t have any orange peels on hand, you can purchase these as well as peppermint at Mountain Rose Herbs.

Peppermint

Peppermint is the best herb I have found to counteract the afternoon slump. Besides its refreshing taste, peppermint helps to increase mental clarity and calms the nerves.

This herb is high in calcium, magnesium, potassium, and other beneficial nutrients. Making water-based drinks like this herbal iced tea is one of the best ways to assimilate the nutrition that is available in peppermint.

Peppermint can also help you digest food more efficiently, freeing up your body’s energy to spend on doing whatever it is that you love to do during the summertime!

I would love to hear from you! Will you try this orange and peppermint herbal iced tea? What are your favorite herbal drinks for summer? Please share in the comments below. 

Print Recipe

Summer Herbal Iced Tea

Author: Kami McBride

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp dried chopped orange peel OR 1/4 cup fresh chopped orange peel
• 2 tbsp dried peppermint OR 1/2 cup fresh peppermint
• 4 cups water
• Honey to taste
• Fresh lemon juice to taste

Instructions

• Put the orange peel, peppermint, and water into a covered saucepan. I use stainless steel Revere pots; glass and enamel pots also work well.
• Over medium-high heat, bring the water and herbs to a boil, and then immediately remove from the heat. Let the herbs steep for 1 to 2 hours.
• Using a metal strainer, remove the herbs from the tea and pour the tea into a pitcher.
• Add honey and lemon juice to taste.
• Store the tea, covered, in the refrigerator and drink within a couple of days.